15 April, 2019

The changing face of activism

European companies are increasingly a target of activist investors, but the aggression seen in the past may be softened for a friendlier approach to win results. That’s the news we hear this week...

29 March, 2019

Nissan’s governance report is a warning for all boards

Just 20 minutes. That’s the time Carlos Ghosn allegedly allowed for each board meeting when he was heading Nissan. Whatever the facts surrounding Ghosn’s guilt or innocence of the charges he no...

27 March, 2019

Performance and accountability: the changing role of the chair

Once a stately figurehead, the chair now faces the glare of publicity, and has become the potential focus of public anger at corporate governance failures. Since the financial crisis the chair has ...

20 March, 2019

US corporates open up on political donations

If there’s one thing certain to cause consternation in US political discourse, it is the source of political funding. A case in point: In the same week

14 March, 2019

How should a board manage a maverick CEO?

How do you solve a problem like Elon Musk? The impulsive chief executive of Tesla seems rarely out of the news. But it’...

22 February, 2019

King IV code change favours quantity over quality

Disclosure is at the heart of corporate governance. To be effective, stakeholders must have access to the information needed to substantiate boardroom claims that the company adheres to governance sta...

20 February, 2019

Think tank recommends culture and people role for remcos

While boards attract much attention, especially in times of crisis, their constituent committees remain largely unnoticed (except audit committees when something goes wrong with the accounts). That co...

14 February, 2019

Establishing vision and values in financial services

The global financial crisis had at its heart a failure of governance and oversight. Controls were ineffective, non-executives did not challenge and relationships broke down with regulators. Boards ...

14 February, 2019

Why integrating ESG is the key to sustainable business

Many of the world’s leading companies have ESG policies embedded within their operations. Some, like Unilever, place their credentials at the forefront of their corporate identity; others may not se...

30 January, 2019

New stewardship code shifts emphasis to disclosures and ‘outcomes’

If you thought only companies were required to be clear about their “purpose”, think again. This morning the UK’s governance regulator has given fair warning to asset managers that they too will...